The Adventures of the Phantom Detective
by Billie Jukes
Summary: The Omake series that became it's own story. What happens when Conan's belief on the existence of ghosts is challenged much more extremely than in TIM.
1. Oops?

AN: A small explanation, since this is (at least for me) something a tad unusual. As you'll notice, this first installment is rather short. That's because this was never intended to be a story on it's own. I just did a random omake at the end of Chapter 5 of TIM. Then another. Then another. Each omake got progressivly longer and I really that it had become a story of it's own, sort of an AU of TIM. That's why I'm postingthem separetly. Omakes that aren't attached to the Phantom Detective continuity will be posted with the corosponding chapter of TIM. Since they did start as omakes, some don't make sense unless you've read a certain chapter of TIM. When this is the case, I'll post the chapter as a prerequsite.

**Prerequisite: TIM chapter 5**

Danny sighed and grabbed Conan's hand, placing it on his torso. "What do you feel?"

"A shirt? Your chest? A pulse." Conan was seriously considering the chance that Jazz _was_ the only sane one in the Fenton family.

"Remember the last one" Danny said, concentrating. "I'm going ghost."

Two blue rings appeared around Danny's torso and spread in opposite direction up and down his body. Conan tried to yank his hand away but Danny held it firmly in place. When the rings finished their trip Danny Phantom lay on the bed, lighting up the room with his soft glow. "How about now?" Then he saw Conan. The little child was no longer a child, but a seventeen year old in an orange business suit, with a black shirt beneath the jacket. Green eyes flashed from beneath white bangs. A soft glow surrounded his body.

"What the hell just happened!" demanded ghostly Conan, or rather Shinichi.

"Hehhehheh...Oops?"


	2. Friendly Intervention

Kazuha's pretty mad at you." Conan commented casually to Heiji.

"And you would know this how?" his osakan counterpart inquired.

"Overheard her talking to Ran. Something about a dance?"

"Yeah there's some big dance tonight. She told me she wanted to go with someone special. I told her good luck finding someone."

Conan stared in disbelief. "And you didn't think she might have meant _you_?"

Heiji blushed, "Me? I mean, were just friends and...Kudo, why are you grinning like that? And since when did your eyes glow green!"

_S$_

_DING-DONG_ Kazuha wiped her eyes. _Aho. Not like I really wanted to go to that dance_ she thought, opening the door.

There was Heiji, dressed in a tuxedo, his hair combed and a bouquet of roses in his hand. There seemed to be something oddly greenish about his eyes, but Kazuha ignored it. "Heiji...what?"

"Just picking you up for the dance, Mi'lady." said Heiji bowing smoothly.

Kazuha blinked. His accent was a little off for some reason, but who the hell cared? He looked so...charming. "I...I'll be right back, I just need to get dressed," she explained, running for her room.

Conan separated himself from Heiji. The great detective of the west shook his head. "What the hell Kudo? You just...just..._set me up on a date with Kazuha_!"

Conan only smirked. "You're welcome."

"As soon as Kazuha gets back here I'll tell her --"

"Tell me what?"

Heiji turned around, about to explain how Kudo had turned into a ghosta and taken control of his body, when he caught sight of his best friend. She was wearingher hair down for once, and it framed her face beautifully. She was also wearing a sleeveless yellow dress that showed off her figure without looking the least bit inappropriate.

"B...B..Beautiful." Heiji stammered.

Kazuha blushed, "Come on, I don't want to be late!" She grabbed Heiji and dragged him off.

Conan just grinned. This may not have been the reason he was given these powers, but it sure was fun.

S$$S

AN: For a beautiful visual, curtesy of Yutaya, go www. deviantart. com/deviation/30278890/ (just remove the spaces)

**Firefly4000**:) This'll be updated as often as TIM, if not moreso

**YELLOWCARDFMAFANS**: Yup ;-) Just keep repeating it's an omake, it doesn't matter.

**SN 1987A**: The thought behind the apotoxin cure is that that ghost form in a physical representation of the soul, and Conan's soul is still 16, no matter what his physical age


	3. Can you Keep a Secret?

AN: Sorry for the missed update. Blame FF.N, my Document Manager shut me out for a few days.

"Ultraman!"  
"Astroboy!"  
"Ultraman!"  
"Astroboy!"

"Boys." muttered Ayumi, rolling her eyes at Genta and Mitsuhiko.

_Kids_ thought Conan rolling his eyes at the world in general.

"Hey Conan, what was that?" Ayumi asked.

"What was what?"

"That blue stuff that came out of your mouth?"

"What blue..." Conan was interrupted by a strange blue mist that appeared on his breath.

_Great, I'm still not used to this whole 'halfa' thing. Let's see, which power did Danny say this was?_

Oh. Shit.

"Hey guys, I'm not feeling to well, see ya tommarrow." Conan said quickly, taking off.

"He sure moves fast for someone who's not feeling well." observed Mitsuhiko.

"Who cares. ULTRAMAN!"

"ASTROBOY!"

S$

"So, trying to spare the other whelps by keeping the fight away from them, eh."

"What do you want, Skulker!" Conan asked heatedly. He'd not forgiven this ghost for what he'd done to Ran.

"To finish my hunt!" The metalic ghost grinned. "Once I accept a hunt I always follow through. And this time the ghost boy isn't here to save you."

"He doesn't have to be." _What's that expression Danny uses? Oh yeah,_ "Going Ghost."

As a wave of power flowed through him, Shinichi took a moment to appreciate the fact that he could become his teenage self whenever he wanted _without_ going through the pain of an apotoxin transformation.

It would have been nicer if he didn't have strange hair and eye color, lack a pulse and body heat, or dress like he was color blind.

C'est la guerre.

Skulker's jaw dropped. "You're...since when...?"

Shinichi _smirked_. True he hadn't mastered most of the powers Danny had, barely any in fact, but the increased strength and speed was nice. Add to that the facts that he grown up with Ran Mori as a best friend and that Skulker simply hadn't come armed for halfa, this did not bode well for Vlad's lackey.

The battle was short but brutal. Rather than fire off bolts of ectoplasm like Danny did, Shinichi encased his arms and legs in the stuff, adding to his punching and kicking power. Skulker never had a chance.

"I concede defeat today" he declared, "But I will return! Besides, you have something else to worry about." he said, vanishing

"What did he mean by that?" Shinichi wondered, turning back into Conan. Then he turned around _Oh..._

"Um...How long have you guys been there?"

"Since the 'Going Ghost' thing" answered Mitsuhiko, still looking awed.

"_That was the most awesomest thing ever!_" squeed Ayumi. Genta just nodded.

Conan laughed nervously. "So... can you guys keep a secret?"

S$$S

AN: Eh, always said if any found him out it would be the kids.

**Inuconan : **Glad you like. And if you have something post it, I wanna read it too!

**YELLOWCARDFMAFANS**: I love Shinichi. Remember in DP-verse being a ghost has a slightly different conotation than usually. And being a halfa's much better.

**Firefly4000**: Thanks for the review, and TIM in the abreiviation for **T**he **I**mpossible **M**urder, m'friend


	4. The Crime

Shinich Kudo had many things in common with Conan Edogawa. This was understandable as they were in fact the same person.

One of the most important things to him was justice, which meant always doing the right thing, _never _compromising.

Yet here he was, about to commit a theft. A robbery. HIM!

He had no choice though. It was his own fault for allowing his secrets to be discovered. The only consolation, and it was a small one, was that he had negotiated this to be a one time deal.

Normally his target would be well out of his reach, but his blackmailers had seen he had the power of flight. Invisable, as he did _not_ want to get caught and have to explain this, he hoverered up to his target. He reached through the container and grabbed as much as he could hold.

That should be enough to satisfy them.

He flew back to the appointed meeting place.

"Did you get them?" he was eagerly asked by his blackmailers.

"Yeah," he said, turning over the goods. "_Now don't ever make me do that again!_"

His blackmailers divided the take amongst themselves, unaffected by his anger.

Shinichi still didn't know why fate had given him these powers.

But he was sure as hell it wasn't to steal cookies off the top of the fridge for the rest of Dective Boys. 


	5. The Spirit of Invention

Three of the founding members of the Shonen Tantei positivly bounced on the way to Agasa's. 

The fourth was more reserved. He too had gotten the message that Agasa had some new toys for them. Usually getting a new invention was a great help.

Getting a new invention two days after the Fentons had sent Agasa a large package had him scared out of his mind.

Ai opened the door. "You guys are going to love this."

Conan rolled his eyes, noticing a strange bracelet on her arm.

Agasa bustled in, obviously pleased with himself. "Remember that ghost octopus last week."

The children moaned in respose. They had all ended up covered in ectoplasmic ink that would _not wash out_. Needless to say, their parents were not pleased (except Ran who had understood what had happened) and the kids had had the riot act read to them.

"Since apparently these ghosts aren't going to stop attacking Conan, I've asked the Fenton's for some help with protective gear." He handed newbracelets, similiar to Ai'sto Ayumi, Genta, and Mitsuhiko.

Ayumi pressed a button on the side of her bracelet. There was a flash and instantly she was in a violet hooded jumpsuit that Conan recognized as being the Fenton's design.

"AWESOME" exclaimed Genta and Mitsuhiko, also puching the button on their watching, suddenly becoming clothed in red and green jumpsuits respectively.

"Mine's blue." said Ai simply.

"These outfits are ecto-resistent, which means no more stains. They also have mini-jets built into the boot."

""Mini-jets! Cool!" exclaimed Mitsuhiko.

"We can be superheroes like Conan." said Ayumi, sparkles in her eyes.

"Oi, Oi," said Conan annoyed. He didn't even _want_ to be a superhero, ghosts just kept attacking them.

He glared at the proffesor. "Mind telling me what possessed you to give the kids something that would make them run _towards_ danger instead of _away_ from it?"

Agasa smirked. "Just the spirit of invention,"

"Right," said Conan, "One of these days we'll see if I can't excorcise it"

S$$S

**SN 1987A**: always liked that expression better than "C'est la vie". At least with teh ST all they wanted was cookies, even if COnan's still irked about it.

**Firefly4000**: #hugs back# glad your enjoying the story!

**starfruit-22**: YAY more luck! #hoards#

**The-world-needs-peace**: Poor Conan, hopefully he will not be judged too harshly for his most grievious crime. Halfa Conan was a joke between me and a friends of mine and is actually what got me started on writing TIM in the first place.


	6. The Art of Communication

"My husband murdered me in my sleep. All for the insurance money."

"The police think it was an accident, but he drove me off the road an purpose!"

"Mines is a tale of Romance, Passion, and a Murder most foul"

Conan resisted the urge to bang his head on his desk. And he thought it was bad when they were attacking him? Ever since word got out that the new halfa was a detective, every ghost whose death was an unsolved murder was hounding him 24/7.

"Mr. Edogawa, is there a problem?" asked the teacher. She knew the boy was bright, bordering on brilliant, but his apparent inattentivness in class really got on her nerves.

"No sensei." After all, what could he say? 'I see dead people'?

Not if his demi-life depended on it!

Ayumi looked over at him, concerned. 

"Ghosts?" she mouthed. Conan nodded. "Need any help?" He shook his head. Not much she could do.

"Mr. Edogawa, if you are _quite_ finished flirtting with your girlfriend…"

Conan swore ghostly revenge…

"I never got to tell her I love her!"

…as soon as the current problem was dealt with.

S$

At recess Conan went into an unused classroom.

"It was the drugs, man, totally not my fault."

"**ENOUGH**!" screamed Conan, transforming into his ghostly state, his eyes glowing in anger.

"I am not your personaly messanger boy. I will not deliver messages to loved ones, they wouldn't believe me anyway. I _will_ help solve murders and misunderstandings regarding death. However you can ask me after school, in the evening, and on weekends. NOT during class. NOT during meals. And NOT when I'm trying to sleep. Is that perfectly clear?"

"An what'er you gonna do about?" sneered a spitefull looking old woman. "We'll keep at ye till ye give in."

Shinichi reached into his backpack and pulled out a familiar looking thermos. The hag screamed as she was sucked inside.

"Now I repeat, is everything clear?"

S$

Mitsuhiko ran up to his friend. "Ayumi told me the ghosts were bugging you. I've got some extra ofuda from that temple spirit if you want?"

Conan shook his head, unconsciously edging away from the ofuda. "That's okay." He said, waving the thermos. "You just have to know how to talk to them."

S$$S

**The-world-needs-peace**: Dr.Agasa parents, that is a scary thought (almost as scary as him and the fenton's becoming pen pals) And yah, TIM & PD get updates together.

**YumeTakato**: If only it were that simple, huh?

**SN 1987A**: Ummmm, because she was in the pic? This story was based off a fanart Yutaya did. (click the fanart button on my info page to see it.) And Conan doesn't get a suit because he can transform.

**Firefly4000**: Danke muchly Mi amigo #glomps#


	7. Ghostly Revenge

The teacher sighed "Now add the baking soda to the vinegar," she instructed. _Is there anything duller than teaching kids to make baking soda volcanoes. _She looked around the room to make sure the kids weren't doing anything _too_ explosive.

That's when the skeleton in the back of the room waved at her.

She almost blinked and missed it. Chalking it up to a student prank, she went over and examined it. There were no wires attached to the skeleton, no mechanisms to make it move.

Satisfied her resumed supervising the class. Really, her imagination was getting the better of her, must be from hanging around the children all day.

After class was over her shooed the kids out, then went back to look at the skeleton.

"You're not much, are you?"

The skeleton turned to look at her, "You're not that great to look at yourself."

S$

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The students turned in surprise to see their teacher running out of the science lab screaming.

"I'm back!" said Conan cheerfully, running up to the Shonen Tantei. "Did I miss anything?"

"Just a ghostboy abusing his powers to get revenge on a teacher for picking on him and his friends during class." Said Ai with a small grin.

Conan grinned sheepishly. "Hey, even a halfa has to take ghostly revenge seriously."

S$$S

**The-world-needs-peace: **Unfortunately teachers just don't seem to understand the stress level on young teenager-shrunk-to-children-turned-to-half-ghosts. I wonder why not? Shinichi thanks you for the program.

**YumeTakato**DP is in my opinion the best thing to hit Nick since Zim.

**SN1987A**I guess to them Conan is a highly expendable resource. And he's gonna need all the help he can get.

**Firefly4000**Reality Trip was great, though theending felt a bit like cheating.


	8. Guest fic: Magical Boy

**Read first! **

**AN: **This is a special edition of The Adventures of the Phantom Detective. The reason being that **I didn't write it**. This was a guest fic done by Yutaya. Yes this is the same Yutaya who does all the rocking fanart, so if you're down by LJ, Give her some love.

S$

"Takagi-kun?" 

"Ah…yes, Sato-san? What is it?"

"I…well… I've been wondering…I mean…not like it's not a perfectly logical conclusion to come to…but well, I mean to say that…well…………you know that we're partners and…uhm…well…I mean…partners have a right to know if…"

"Sato-san, what's wrong?" Was that a blush? No way was that a blush. Sato did _not_ blush. …Did she?

"I…er, well…I was wondering…if maybe…"

"Yes?"

"If maybe…Takagikunareyouamagicalboy?"

"…Bwah?"

"I was wondering…if…maybe you might be…a magical boy?" 

"…………………"

"F-forget it. It's not...I mean, it's not like it would have mattered…but I just…" Yep, definitely blushing.

"No, it's okay. Just…why would you think that I'm a magical boy?"

"Well…" the officer was taking over now, laying out the facts, drawing a logical conclusion.

"When the Fenton boy possessed you, his powers grew, right? He was able to fend off that Plasmius." 

"Well…yeah…"

"And he said that it was because you were willing to work together while Plasmius had to fight against Shiratori's will, right? It's because you also wanted to protect us."

"Uhm…yeah…" Now Takagi was the one who was blushing.

"So…even if you wanted him to help us, he should have been just able to be controlling your body and maybe have all his own power, correct? But his power was stronger." 

"Well…yes, actually…"

"But if he was in your body, how was he able to amplify his powers, or call on them at all? Just because of your _feelings_?" 

"Er…"

"So it is only logical to conclude that what he was truly calling on was _your_ power, power that you've had hidden away from all of us." Sato looked proud of herself. Takagi just looked confused.

"I suppose so…but…I've never really noticed any special powers or anything…"

"Well, maybe now that you've experienced forming plasma blasts and stuff, you'll figure it out."

"I guess so…"

"Well, that'd be kind of cool, I guess. "Don't worry Takagi-kun! I'll keep your secret!" 

"Oh…uhm…thanks, Sato-san…"

"No problem!" 

As the scene played out, an invisible figure gaped where he floated. "I don't believe it…"

"Hm, what?" asked his companion, a fellow invisible floating figure of around 17, with white hair and a horribly color blind orange suit.

"That puppy-dog officer is stronger than me…"

S$$S

This was of course, immediatly declared cannon by myself and a new dimension was added to The Adventures of the Phantom Detective. It has also had the result of Takagi being dubbed the "puppy-dog officer" in my head which may or may not have ramifications in "What's a Little Fur Amongst Friends?"


	9. Niichan

As great as flying was (and it was _great_) Conan preferred keeping both his feet on the ground. While he seemed to have accepted the latest bit of weirdness to permeate his life, there were just some things a logical man was never meant to do.

Now invisiblity and intangebilty were other matters. They were wonderful, wonderful things. He was just standing there taking notes while all sorts of lowlifes made less than legal plans. Really, he was spoiling Megure with all those annoymous tips.

There was a light but steady rain falling, but it went right through him, not leaving him so much as damp. Really, where had these powers been all his life?

He was just about to head home when he spotted a famliar looking purple jumpsuit hiding under some bushes. "Ayumi? What are you _doing _here?"

The girl jumped, "Whose there!"

Oh yeah, invisible. "It's me," Conan explained, solidifying.

She latched onto him like a drowning girl to a life preserver. "Ifellasleeponthebusandgotoffonthewrongstopandgotlostandthenitstarted_raining_," she took a breath, "and I wanted to fly home but Dr. Agasa said not to let anyone see us using the jet boots and I was scared!"

_So much for keeping my feeting on the ground…_ "I guess I could fly you home," Her face lit up, "but I'd have to be, you know, big."

"Oh," she said softly, her earlier enthusiasm deflating.

The minds of children were truly amazing things, Conan mused. Accept that he had somehow unbeknowst to himself siphoned off ghost powers from some weird American kid, no problem. Deal with the throngs of ghosts that came after him for it, big deal. The fact that he was somewhat older then them and at times showed it…

Such levels of awkwardness shouldn't exist.

So the children decided the best course of action would be to forget that particular secret ever existed. Since Shinichi Kudo was supposed to be dead, this suited Conan just fine and in return he rarely used his adult form, and never in front of the others if he could avoid it.

Ayumi looked up at the sky. "It's okay. I just wanna go home."

Conan smiled at her reassuringly. "Then hold on just a minute." He vanished from sight again. For a moment Ayumi panicked, then she felt two cold hands picking her up. She felt a strange tingling and suddenly she could see Conan, or rather Shinichi.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked, concerned. After all she had been the most upset by his…age descrepency.

Ayumi smiled, he had a nice voice, even if it was an adult's. It sounded warm and kind and made her feel safe. "I'm sure."

And off they went, skimming on the clouds. For all ghosts flying was second nature, something they knew instinctively as soon as they manifested. Even with his lack of practice, Shinichi still glided gracefully over roofs and through the clouds, doing the occaisonal loop, making Ayumi laugh.

She fell asleep halfway there, her last thoughts being _I wonder if this's what it's like to have a big brother?_

S$$S

AN: Of all my ideas for Phantom Detective, this is the one I liked the most and at the same time was the most hesitant to do. I think my posting this was the decided on Phantom Detective becoming it's own series, separate from TIM. Not just comedic spoofs, but a universe in it's own right, with it's own little dramas.

**Firefly4000:** Glad you liked it. Missed you too mi amigo.

**SN1987A:** Well like he said: Even a halfa has to take ghostly revenge a little seriously.

**The-world-needs-peace:** I think everyone has had teachers who are pains. And Shincihi isn't the only one who takes requests. Anything in particualt you want to see in Phantom Detective, let me know.

**YumeTakato:** And no Sidney Pointdexter to act as a surugate conscience. Afterlife is good


	10. Scarier than Ghosts

Conan was surprised when Takagi grabbed him by the back of his jacket and hoisted him up. "Do you _mind?_"

"We need to hide, Kudo, NOW!"

Conan wasn't sure what surprised him more. That the normally timid officer had plucked him up, said his real name, or actually raised his voice. "Anyplace in mind?"

Takagi shook his head. "Anywhere that no one would think to look for us."

S$

There was a condemed apartment building towards the south side of the district. It wasn't just boarded up, it was bricked up. No way anyone was getting in there unless they could walk through walls.

"So," asked the phantom detective, "what's wrong?"

The cop sighed. "It's Sato. Remember what happened when Danny possessed me?"

Conan nodded, it had been quite a show.

"Ever since then she apparently got it into her head that I'm…I'm some sort of magical boy or something."

Conan blinked, "O-kaaay." Not what he had expected from the normaly rational Sato.

"She keeps trying to get me to dress the part; silly masks, capes, roses. I'm at my wits end."

"What makes you think I can help?"

Takagi gulped. "I didn't come to you to ask for help, I came to warn you. See Sato's been talking to Ran…"

Idely, Conan wondered how long he and Takagi could hide out in the building.

S$$S

**The-world-needs-peace:** I've always been a big Ayumi fan and she gets glossed over so often so I tend to give her the spotlight a little more.

**Firefly4000:** More on the way.

**YumeTakato:** Like I said, the reason I took so long writing this is that it really didn't jive with the humorous setting of PD. The main focus of this setting willand always has been humor, but a little drama may sneak in now and then.

**candidus-lupus-full Moon:** #blinks# never really considered it. Might not be soon, but I'll see what I can do.


	11. Ghost Stories

Phantom Detective: Ghost Story

Some times Ran had to wonder about her friends. For once it wasn't her mystery-geek shrunken half-ghost boyfriend Shinichi that was causing her grief. Indeed since her discovery of his 'little' problem, he had endeavored to stay firmly on her good side.

No, right now it was Sonoko who was causing her grief. The hyperactive blonde considered Ran a sister of sorts. And well, sisters tease each other. Such as the scary story telling contest currently underway.

Not to long ago that would have been enough to give her nightmares, but she was slowly being desensitized to the supernatural. Of course Sonoko didn't know that.

"You're doing pretty good tonight," Sonoko commented. "But you'll never get through one of my tales of terror. There was once this one couple who…"

She was cut off by a bloodcurdling scream by a girl named Nanase.

"A man, there was a man outside!" she pointed shakily at the glass doors that lead to the Suzuki's backyard.

Ran jumped up and ran to the door, wrenching it open. "Whose there! Show yourself!" She got no answer but the pounding rain that had made tonight 'such a perfect night for telling scary stories' in Sonoko's own words.

"Way to freak us out." Sonoko mock glared at Nanase. "It's my turn to tell the story."

"But there really was someone," the poor girl whimpered.

"Maybe we should stop." Ran suggested.

"You'd like that wouldn't you. No way, now where was I?" Suddenly the lights started flickering wildly.

"M...maybe you should have your wiring checked." Suggested Nanase

"It's not the wiring" cried a girl named Keiko, "Look!" she pointed to the light switch which was jumping up and down wildly.

Ran shivered. "Is it me, or did it suddenly get very cold in here."

"Sonoko-san, your house isn't haunted is it?"

"Of course not!"

The flickering stopped, plunging the room into darkness.

One of the girls screamed. "I just felt a cold hand on my arm."

Loud footsteps echoed from upstairs.

"Didn't you say your parents were gone for the weekend," Ran asked.

Sonoko nodded nervously.

Out of nowhere came a scream, and not from one of the girls. This was a male scream and seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

None of the girls moved. They sat huddled together in the living room floor. For a long time nothing happened, then the light flicker back on.

"…guess it's over." Keiko said nervously

Sonoko looked around then laughed. "Come on, it was probably just someone pranking us. No Biggie." She then realized that none of the others were paying attention to her. Rather they were staring in horror at a dark corner of the ceiling. There was a noose hanging, dangling slightly. Inside the noose was the transparent figure of a man. No features could be made out, just the vague glowing outline of his body. Without warning his eye suddenly opened wide, his glowing glare aimed at the poor girls. As one entity they all ran away screaming.

All but one.

Mori Ran showed absolutely no fear as the ghostly figure drifted down from the ceiling, features becoming more distinct the closer it got. It floated behind her, his hands grasping her shoulders on either side of her neck.

"That's nice Shinichi," Ran murmured as he gave her an impromptu backrub.

"No problem." He said, giving her a ghostly kiss, "But that was slightly mean of you, calling in your own personal ghost to scare your friends."

Ran shrugged. "They started it. Sonoko _knows_ how much scary stories bother me. Besides, how is this any different from that number you pulled on your teacher?"

"Speaking of which…"

Ran laughed. "It's okay _Conan_, you aren't grounded anymore. Still, that was pretty good. Especially the scream, it didn't sound anything like you."

Shinichi smiled nervously. "Nothing you should worry about."

S$

"Okay, run this by me again?" Megure asked, rubbing his temples.

"What's there to explain? I broke into the Suzuki house in order to rob it. The younger daughter was having a slumber party; I saw the guests through the glass doors. I figured I'd tie up the girls and scare them a little before looting the place. That's when the ghost showed up."

"The ghost?" _Great, it's Jack Fenton all over again._ "Can you describe it?"

" I… I'll never forget that face. Young, late teens to early twenties. White hair, orange suit, green eyes. I'll never forget those horrible eyes. He was glaring, full of rage when he grabbed me."

"The ghost grabbed you?"

The man nodded, "Flew me through the roof. Told me if I wanted to live to see another day to come here and confess. So I'm confessing! I've commited over thirty minor burglaries over the past ten years. I've got two unpaid parking tickets and cheated on my taxes. Now for the love of god lock me up before he finds me!"

Megure sighed. "Chiba, get this guy to a holding cell, Shiratori call the Suzuki residence and find out if there was a disturbance. Sato, _please_ clue me in on what the heck Takagi is laughing about."

S$$S

AN: Yeah, Ran found out about the events of 'Ghostly Revenge' and (to his eternal mortification) grounded him for it. Also This is the first chapter of PD to debut on FF.N.

**Terra89:** They can run but they can't hide. Pic of Takagi in Costume is now in the fanart folder.

**The-world-needs-peace:** Actually, Conan's not that against succeeding (if it means ditching the orange suit that clashes horribly with his eyes…) But as Hung Nyugen once said: With Great Power comes Great Chaos. Revenge on Sato and Ran…This shall be interesting.

**YumeTakato:** Your last reveiew said 'Deus Machina' which means a plot device that totally shifts the tone of the story and requires suspension in belief (I looked it up, yay new word) It fit 'Niichan' really well.

**Candidus-lupus-full Moon: **I love good crossovers too. I got your PM saying you hand figured out the site so I hope you find what you're looking for.


	12. Extra Extra

_You have GOT to be kidding me_ thought the Phantom Detective as he looked at the toy stores newest line up.

Danny Phantom toys lined the shelves.

_I can see Danny's head exploding now…_

"Hey Conan, just the kid I wanted to see."

Conan quickly put on his childish persona, wondering why Megure wanted to talk to him. Usually it took him and the kids showing up the Inspector's current team before he was eligible to be noticed.

"I was wondering if you'd heard from Kudo lately. He's your cousin right? How's he doing, in good health? Has he been by recently?"

Suspicion grew in Conan's mind. "I haven't heard from Shinichi-niichan in a while but he was doing fine last I heard from him. And I don't think he's in the area, otherwise he would have tried to see Ran-neechan."

"Right." Megure looked unconvinced. "Well if you hear anything, let me know."

"Will do." _What was that all about?_

S$

_I wonder if Danny even knows about the toys. Maybe I should let him know. Heh, that would be funny, him haunting a toy factory._

Once again Conan's concentration on the unapproved marketing of his friend was interrupted, this time by a glowing blue butterfly. The small insect fluttered into his hand and in a flash of light became a piece of paper.

_Hmm, Takagi's getting better at magic, all that practice Sato forces on him must be paying off. Lets see:_

'Kudo, you have GOT to be more careful, what were you thinking? -T'

_ …Okaaaaaaaaay_

S$

"Yes, I'm sure. I think the company producing them was Bundai. Umm, no I'm not sure a ghost can legally sue. Oh, Ran's here, got to go, bye." Conan hung up the phone. Ran regard him with a raised eyebrow.

He could take it no more "What?"

Ran tossed him a newspaper, one of the supermarket tabloids. He looked at the first page and his jaw dropped at the professionally drawn sketch of his face in ghost mode.

'…_All the robber was able to give police was a sketch of the ghost who had scared him into confession. As anyone can plainly see, the resemblance is strong with long-missing teen detective Kudo Shinichi. Due to the fact that his attacker was able to fly and walk through walls, we believe it was in fact a ghost._

_To make matters more intriguing, several people report seeing the same ghostly apparition near the docks and warehouse district, almost always directly before a successful police raid on the area in question._

_Is the restless spirit of our former savior still watching out from us from beyond the grave? Has the recent success of our police report been due to tips from beyond? How did Kudo Shinichi meet his death and why hasn't there been an investigation into it?_

Conan's jaw dropped. "Oh dear…"

S$$S

**YumeTakato: **#giggles# Oh was there aftermath. And while Shinichi needs to pull more pranks, he can't pull too many, otherwise how would we tell him from Kaito.

**Terra89:** Soory the updates were late. Real life is evil sometimes.

**LazyShamanist:** Laughter is said to be the best medicine. So does it cure laughanesia? Donate something huh? #hands over Phantom Detective plushies#

**Candidus-lupis-full Moon: **MC1T, it's a lifesaver for Conan fanfic addicts. (like me)

**Firefly4000: **I shall endeavor as always #glomps# (Why can you use astrixs in reviews but not fics?)

**Taipan: **Always glad to make someone laugh. I hope you enjoy the upcoming chapters as much.


	13. Haunted House

Phantom Detective: Haunted House

Shinichi floated in the attic of his house. It was nice to be able to get some peace and quiet for once, but if he were being totally honest with himself that wasn't the real reason he was here.

He was haunting the house.

Truth be told he wasn't sure when it had started. Sometime after he had somehow absorbed Danny's power. He couldn't pinpoint when the desire had started, only when he had acted on it. It had seemed so natural at the time it wasn't until much later that he had realized how out of character it had been.

Danny didn't have this problem. It had taken weeks to build up the courage to ask only to have his worst fears confirmed. He didn't have anyone he could talk to about this, no one to explain why he had this craving.

He wanted to be ghostly.

Kind of pathetic said out loud, but that was the root of the problem. He hadn't become malevolent or a second Plasmius (_Thank GOD)_ but after the party he had known.

When he had pranked both his teacher and the girls at the party he hadn't thought much about it. The teacher had taken way too much joy in making her students (not just him) uncomfortable and Ran had _asked_ him to scare the other girls. But the thief was different. When he had heard the footsteps from upstairs, he had only wanted to investigate. When he had found the thief he decided to scare him away from the girls. Just a minor fright.

It wasn't a minor fright. Shinichi had done all he could to instill mortal terror in the man and worse…he had enjoyed every second of it. Even now if he had wanted peace and quiet there were several options available to him, a library, a backroom at Agasa's. But all he wanted was to float in the attic of an abandoned house.

_What's happening to me?_

Cobwebs spanned the attic ceiling and though he easily could have removed them, he didn't. He felt an odd kinship with the spiders. At the moment they were both creatures of nightmares.

His mind unbiddenly turned to the day of the attempted kidnapping, the day Ran had found out everything. Vlad, unknowing of his new state, had sent three vultures to kidnap him. He had been able to evade capture, but he was new to his powers and barely had any control. What little control he had only seemed to manifest itself in his transformed state, so that had been the state he was in when he had inadvertently run into Ran on her way home from the hospital. The look in her eyes, the recognition mixed with fear was more painful than the worst apotoxin transformation. Almost as bad was the shock and betrayal when he had lost control and shifted back to Conan in her arms.

Shinichi wasn't sure what had happened. When he woke up Danny had been there and Ran had apparently forgiven him, though she was still a little scared around him.

"Maybe she had a good reason," Shinichi muttered.

S$$S

AN: And again the drama is back. Sorry. Next chappy is better

**Terra89: **I don't know about Danny, I haven't actively seen him try to haunt anything since the Halloween episode, where we learned he's got no haunting talent.

**LazyShamanist: **#huggles plushie# looking forward to it

**Candidus-lupus-full Moon:** :D

**The-world-needs-peace:** He's in trouble, that's for sure. And yes, Takagi has magic, no one knows why but he does. (More on that later)

**Firefly4000:** S'weird, it blanks them when I try to use them. #sics dustbunnies of you#

**Taipan: **TIM may be drawing to a close, but the tales of the Phantom Detective is just beginning! I don't really have something planned for the toys, but you never know. (I didn't have anything planned for Kid or Takagi in TIM and look how that turned out)


	14. Drops of Jupiter

AN: I don't own "Drops of Jupiter" any more than I own the internet. I'd _like_ to own both, but I don't.

Ignorance was bliss.

If she were still ignorant, she would be at the dance. She wouldn't have gone _with_ anyone. But she would have gone. As things were now, she only wanted to go with Shinichi, who was _right there,_ but she couldn't.

She could hardly take him as Conan, and proving the tabloids right didn't sit well with her either.

That was a whole other kettle of fish. The 'Phantom Detective' was becoming a popular urban legend, something Danny found highly amusing. People were eating it up and she couldn't count how many times she had been offered condolences for the death of her friend. When she had demanded he set things straight, he had just fixed her with a glare and asked her how he was supposed to do that. For all intended purposes it was true; Shinichi Kudo only existed as a ghost.

After that she had decided the subject was on 'Topics to avoid'. Despite his playful demeanor with his powers, he wasn't very comfortable with his new undead state and would be depressed for hours or even days if he stopped to think about it.

It didn't do much for her mood either, so she pushed it to the back of her mind. If she was going to mope, it was going to be about the dance. In her closet was a dress she had been saving. It took only a second for Ran to change into the dress. Hey she could dream right?

"You look beautiful," she heard whispered in her ear.

"I appreciate the compliment Shinichi, but if I need to secure this room I will."

Shinichi suppressed a shiver. Whether through magic or technology, 'securing' a location was always painful on the part of the ghost. "I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes." Ran felt the strange feeling of becoming intangible as Shinichi pulled her from the room.

It was strange, flying while intangible. There was no feeling of wind resistance to gauge speed, no feeling of up or down. Usually the only way she could tell anything was visually, and with her eyes closed that was nullified.

It seemed like her eyes were closed forever when they stopped moving. She felt Shinichi move from behind her to in front of her. "Okay, open your eyes."

Ran complied and gasped, clutching at him tightly. The ground wasn't even visible from where they were, only wispy clouds. Above was the evening sky, brighter and clearer than she had ever seen. "Shinichi what?"

"It's for you. I can't exactly take you out for dinner anymore. Unless I'm Conan I can't even risk being seen in public," It was then that Ran noticed he had swapped what he referred to as 'the orange eyesore' with a black tuxedo. His hair had been amateurly dyed brown, though the attempt to look more human was ruined by the emerald eyes.

"But what about the temperature or thin air?" Ran protested.

He smiled. "It doesn't matter. As long as you're intangible, things like temperature and air pressure shouldn't matter. Technically you don't even need to breath. Don't worry, I checked and double-checked. You're safe with me."

Holding her in one hand, Shinichi reached into his pocket and pulled out something that looked vaguely like and iPod. He pressed a few buttons before sticking it back into his pocket.

Suddenly music surrounded them both, as if there were speakers floating around them. English words seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

_At last she's back in the atmosphere With Drops of Jupiter in her Hair_

_HeyHeyHey_

"May I have this dance?" Shinichi asked.

Ran grinned, the feelings of sadness banished. "Of course."

With only the stars as their witness, they danced.

_Tell me, did you sail across the sun?_

_Did you make to the milky way to see the lights all faded,_

_And that Heaven is overrated._

He held her close. She meant the world to him. She was his everything, alpha and omega. She was stronger in spirit than she was in body, and that was saying something. She was what made it worth being Shinichi Kudo.

_Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star_

_One without a permanent scar_

_And did you miss me while you were_

_Looking for yourself out there?_

"Ran, I'm sorry this is all I can do for you. I wish I could be normal for you."

"You were never normal to begin with." Ran commented dryly. "And neither am I for that matter. If you were normal, we'd never get to see all this. It's beautiful up here."

"I know. I'm glad I could share this with you. Ran, does it …bother you that I'm like this? I mean you always hated ghosts and stuff."

She looked him in the eyes. "No. It's weird, but you were gone for so long. Even as a ghost or half ghost, I'm just glad to have you back."

"Ran, you know I never really left. I could never leave you."

"I know that _now_." She said, pulling him close for a kiss, "You are such an idiot Shinichi."

He smiled. "Yeah, I am."

_Can you imagine no love, pride, freeze-dried chicken_

_Your best friend in the whole world sticking up for you_

_-Even when I know you're wrong_

_Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance _

_Five-hour phone conversation  
The best soy latte that you ever had . . . and me_

They danced for hours, until the first predawn light told them it was time to get back. It was a good thing neither had school in the morning, for both slept in several hours. But both had a smile on their faces and renewed faith in each other.

Especially Shinichi, who had also regained a little faith in himself.

S$$S

AN: I write romance. Go Me!

In case anyone is wondering about Shinichi's ponderings last chappy, the reason is psychological based on how the halfa views his powers. Plasmius viewed his as making him entitled and thus became someone who took whatever he wanted no matter the consequence to others. Danny saw his powers as making him a superhero, thus he feels compelled to protect people. Shinichi's simply saw himself as becoming ghostly and thus started acting more like he thought a ghost would.


	15. Guest Fic 2Guy Talk

AN: Abject apolgizing on my part for the obscene lateness. Again this is a Guestfic by Yutaya, not me.

S$

The teenaged boy floated –yes, floated- into the room through a heavily bricked up wall. The young man already there tossed him a soda can. The boy sighed and sat down, absently pushing the can around on the table.

"So I take it you've had some luck on your clown suit?"

"Not really."

"Not really?"

The boy sighed, and ran his fingers through impossibly pale white hair.

"This time Ran figured that if making me change clothes didn't work, she'd just alter the ones that're always there. So she took a pair of scissors and a needle to my 'outfit'. …And stop giving me that look; it's not like anything indecent happened."

"So…it worked?"

Shinichi sighed again.

"It'll probably return to its normal state if I return to normal and then go ghost again. Not to mention that the jeans are just plain changed, so that'll do the same as always and revert. Apparently Ran is still trying to figure out how to make slacks go well with this horrendous jacket. I'm just trying to wear this as long as possible until next time when it'll be back to its normal eyesore-ness."

"Ah."

"You have any luck on yours?"

A sigh, followed by a gulp as the other took a swig of his 7up.

"Well, I managed to talk her out of the cape-"

"Good for you."

"-But Sato-san's refusing to let up on anything else. At least we're still at a standstill about the silly mask and wand."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. At least she agrees that a top hat would be too Kaitou Kid-like, and Sato-san isn't very partial to roses. Too cliché."

Shinichi raised a ghostly eyebrow. "And the rest of it isn't?"

"Yes, well…" Takagi-keji trailed off. "Anyway, I'm still trying to stop her from forcing sakura blossoms on me. Apparently it'd be 'dramatic' if they fell around the air in swirls every time I show up to 'put a halt to the dastardly doings of evil doers.'"

"…………Ouch."

"Yes."

And they both hung their heads.

S$$S

Wait till you hear WHY she gave up on the cape #snickers#

**YumeTakato: **Yay for liking it! I hardly ever write romance, so I was really unsure about this chapter.

**Terra89:** I think we're going to have to agree to disagree on this. Danny IS witty, and very talented at banter, he's just not geared for being scary.

**Firefly4000:** More, you want MORE…..Okay!

**candidus-lupusFull Moon:** I need to do more fluff pieces. Sadly I'm extremely bad at it. 

**NarutoChaos: **There actually is an explanation for that, I'm just working on how to introduce it in the story

**ChibiMoonPhantom:** Again, sorry for the slow update

**Sasia:** I go by the Ron Stoppable philosophy: Never be Normal!


	16. Blue Moon

Notes: One of my Fave PD stories. As (I think) I mentioned earlier, the events between TIM and PD don't always match up. In this case Team Phantom went with the option of tricking Vlad into being caught by Walker, meaning Kid wasn't hired to steal the Plasmius Maximus and thus this is his first encounter with Team Phantom's Japanese branch.

S$

He thought he'd learned. But nooooo he just _had_ to tempt fate.

Kaito Kuroba, currently in his Kaitou Kid identity, was dodging through back alleys as quick as he could, his current heist clutched in his right hand. His problem wasn't the police, actually they had apparently lost interest in him halfway through the heist.

He wished the monsters would do the same.

They looked like birds the size of a Labrador. They had no feathers, but rust color skin pulled taunt from beak to tail.

_And they spit acid. Can't forgot the acid._ thought Kid wryly, trying to ignore the painful burns covering most of his left arm.

Panty raids on a Dark Sorceress, bad idea.

He turned a corner, not looking at where he was going, and crashed into someone.

His first thought was: _Great, Kudo and a member of the Tokyo police_

His second thought was: _What the HELL are they wearing!_

Kudo had apparently found a way to shed his 'Conan' identity. But if he wanted to avoid unnecessary attention, he'd have to ditch orange suit. And the white hair dye. And the green contacts.

The cop (Takagi wasn't it?) was wearing what looked like dark blue spandex with a light blue star near the left shoulder. He also was wearing black gloves and combat boots.

"Costume party?" Kid asked.

"I wish," muttered Takagi.

"And what are you supposed to be Kudo?" Kid eyed the black shirt under the orange jacket, "The Spirit of Halloween?"

"He wears black and purple." Takagi answered, earning a raised eyebrow from both Kid and Kudo. "Shit, they're coming."

_Squawrk_ screeched one of Koizumi pets as it dove in on Kid.

Kudo grabbed Kid and Takagi and pulled them through the alley wall and into a warehouse.

The thief blinked. "I inhaled too much of my smoke screen, didn't I?"

"SHHHHH!" hissed Kudo, who Kid could now see was glowing nicely.

"Where did they go?" Kid heard Nakamori-keibu's voice ask.

"They must have doubled around." answered Megure, "Search the area!"

For a long moment the surrounding area was filled with the sound of cops searching for something. Then they cleared out, leaving three relieved individuals.

Kaito took a deep breath. Dammit, brain breakage was only supposed to happen to other people. He winced, as another shot of pain went through his injured arm.

"Let me see that," Takagi, reaching towards the burned arm.

"The pterodactyl thingy spits acid." The thief explained. "Why are you in the outfit anyway?"

"Sato made me wear it. She thinks I'm a magical boy or something."

Kid blinked "Why would she think that?" Takagi's hand started to glow a light blue. The was a small flash of light, and when it dimmed, Kaito found his arm completely healed. "Because apparently you are one, gotcha." _Definitely inhaled the smokescreen_

"So what was with the demon birds?" asked Kudo.

"Ticked off a witch. Since when have you two been higher on the most wanted list than me?"

"Blue Moon." answered Kudo.

"?"

"The blue moon is a rare event when the full moon appears twice in one month." Takagi explained.

"Apparently it opens a gateway to the spirit world. The police officers are possessed, and I can't change back into Conan."

"Why would you want to?" From what he had found out, Kudo _really_ hated being his smaller self.

"Because I find having a pulse reassuring." Noticing the thief's skeptical look, Shinichi leaned in till his nose was almost touching Kid's. The thief shivered as he realized Shinichi's body wasn't radiating heat, but _cold_. And it wasn't just his body that was glowing, a menacing phosphorous green light seemed to be coming from his eyes.

"Boo," whispered Shinichi, no breath brushing against Kid's face.

_OOOOOOOOOOOH SHIT! Poker face Poker face! The cops have magical powers and Kudo's undead, but I can deal, I can…I am sooo screwed!_

"Shinichi currently exists between life and death." Takagi explained, "Normally he can control which side he's on, but because of the effects of the Blue Moon, he's stuck in ghost form."

"It's because of my -unique- living status that those ghosts are after me. Their leader, Walker, doesn't like anything that doesn't follow his set of rules. I apply."

"My power protects me from being possessed. Walker didn't like that either." Takagi included.

"Koizumi's never summoned demons before. Maybe this gateway is giving her more power." Kaito mused.

"If that's the case, then they should disappear at dawn, like the ghosts will." Shinichi added.

Kaito nodded then paused. "Why are you explaining all this? Normally both of you should be trying to get me in jail."

"Isn't it obvious?" said Shinichi, who was looking a little too proud of himself for freaking out Kaito. "We came here looking for you. We have to stay out of Walker's reach till dawn, and you're the best there is at dodging cops."

"With our powers, Kudo and I have a better chance of dealing with those demons than you do." Takagi added. "Not to mention healing any injuries. You need us, and we need you."

Kaito flexed his newly healed arm. The cop had a point; if that acid hit him in the leg… he was toast on his own. "A partnership then, we help each other survive till dawn…"

"…After which we all go our separate ways, no tracing or tailing." Shinichi added.

The two detectives and the thief shook threeways. "Till dawn…"


	17. Murderer

The lab is a mess. In the back of my mind I know I should probably clean it up, heavens knows Hagase has enough volatile chemicals laying around, but somehow I just can't seem to be able to move.

There's always a nice safe wall between being a weapons designer and a murderer. No one blames the gun manufacturers for what their creations do. Yes I knew what my poisons were being used for, how could I not? Especially taking into account my employers.

But these victims had no names or faces to me. The only one who was ever pointed out to me was Kudo Shinichi, and that was only on the grounds that he might have survived.

He may have survived my poison with minimal side effects (sometimes I wonder if he realizes just how lucky he was that night). He didn't have quite so much luck when the ghosts came to town.

I take it back, actually, his luck was surprisingly similar. While the concepts of black and white are rarely valid, life and death were never supposed to have a gray area. Kudo seems to have found it nicely though.

Not alive but not dead either. Even when he's in his 'living' state he _should_ be dead. Certainly his body temperature and pulse rate are incapable of supporting life. Truly I don't know what to make of it. Still he had died, at least partially, and (to my guilty relief) it was neither my fault nor even the fault of my former employers. Kudo adjusted, at times even seemed happy about his situation and life went on.

Still one thing bugged me. A royally confused Danny Fenton shaking his head and saying that it was impossible for Conan to have been changed by the amount of energy he put out by merely transforming.

Personally I thought a half-ghost using the word impossible was something of a pot/kettle scenario.

Agasa of course starting branching into paranormal sciences, partially to keep up with influx of supernatural entities, and partially because the Fenton's were sending him new toys. He confirmed Danny's statement. The amount of power necessary to turn a normal human into a halfa would be able to power the entire Beika area.

I still didn't think to much about it, not till my mice escaped.

It was my latest trial run with recreating APTX 4869. The chemical had many similar properties to the drug, though it didn't manifest the "chibi" effect. The cage with the mice was kept near one of the Fenton 'care packages'. I wasn't concerned, there had been enough studies to show that exposure to ectoplasm had no effect on humans unless it was in as previously mentioned massive quantities or you had Kudo's luck.

The next day half my mice were gone.

It was during my testing on the remaining ones that I discovered their bodies temperatures and pulse rate had decreased dramatically. One managed to escaped by turning invisible, making it only too clear that they had developed the 'Halfa' condition. It also made it evident how.

Apotoxin doesn't stay in the victim's system much longer than a few days. However, despite my initial report to my former employers it _does_ leave certain chemical traces that stay in the system significantly longer, perhaps indefinitely.

It was these chemical traces that trapped the ectoplasm energy in the victims systems, and magnified it, allowing the 'Halfa' condition to occur with relatively little initial energy.

It was the poison that killed him after all. My Poison.

I killed Kudo Shinchi.

** LazyTantei: **My laptop dies in the begining of October. I only just got it back

**YumeTakato:** Hope this one was good to, though I'm not very happy with it

**FireHedgeHog**: Having no actual bearing on the main story is one of the virtues of omake, you can go completely nuts :D

**RedHerring1412**: You might want to check either my profile or the DP section in February. I'm just saying... #whistles innocently#

**candidus-lupus-full Moon:** The HP crossover is offcially on the list plot waise and will be posted as soon as it comes up chronologically.

**EelvenGirl:** Amen to that sister. I've been no so subtly encouraging more of it, haven't gotten much of a response though...


	18. Just Desserts

AN: Attention All Readers. The sequel to The Impossible Murder is up in the Danny Phantom Section. You can get to it through my profile . Also there is a link to a Detective Conan music video I made

"Whoever did this better pray I never catch up to them." Kudo muttered. "Was that the last one?"

"Yeah, no one left inside the factory." said Kid who was no happier, there was very little of his white suit that was still white and this put him in as foul a mood as his halfa lookalike.

Takagi slumped down next to the other two. "Memories taken care of. Everyone thinks that one of the vats cracked and the contents flooded the factory. And as much as I want to keep my distance from her, why isn't Koizumi here helping?"

A hint of Kid's usual smirk returned. "Our saboteur apparently messed up one of Koizumi's schemes. Our sorceress is not happy and is making that known."

Takagi shook his head. Apparently Kudo, Koizumi, Kid, and himself constituted the local 'supernatural community' which meant when something supernatural went wrong, they had to mop it up i and /i cover it up (they were all familiar with the plot of _X-men_ , thank you very much).

Kudo slumped down too, temporarily reverting back to Conan. "Do we even have a way to deal with this."

"We'll think of something. Just so we don't get anymore civilians involved, you do that spell of yours, you know, the one that makes people ignore Godzilla."

"It's call the Cloak of Disbelief spell," Takagi corrected before starting to chant.

"I guess that's our cue" Said Conan, transforming back into the ghostly Shinichi.

"How come you don't say 'Going Ghost' like Danny?" Kaito inquired.

"I am not a Saturday Morning Cartoon character. I do not need a battle cry." Kudo stated in a monotone voice.

"But it would be sooo cool, just like Kamen Yaiba." teased Kaito, using Ayumi's voice.

"Keep it up Kid and I WILL possess you and make you publicly declare your undying love for that girl you like. Ask Hattori, I'll do it." The phantom detective sighed, "I was supposed to be taking Ran out to dinner tonight."

Kid and Takagi traded look, neither was sure how Kudo thought he was pulling that one off.

The Phantom Detective grabbed Kid by the shoulder and flew him into the building. Almost immediately a long arm of brown sludge shot out at them from the blob that took up most of the building.

The two dodged, each going in opposite directions, but the tendril smacked Kid's glider, sending the thief spiraling into the ground.

The monster roared and went in for the kill. Shinichi swooped back down, grabbing Kaito and flying out of the way.

"Bitter isn't it,"

"One more joke and I swear..."

"Actually, I have an idea, Can you fly us up above the thing?"

"Anything to make this night end."

"Don't worry," said the thief, pulling a tinted bottle out of his suit. "If I'm right, this should takes care of everything."

As they flew past the creature Kaito set to work unscrewing the bottle cap. The moment they were above what passed for the things head, Kaito tilted the bottle allowing the contents to splash onto the brown ooze.

The creature roared wildly flailing it's arms that were even now loosing their consistency and dissolving into harmless brown goo.

Shinichi blinked. "What was that stuff?"

Kid grinned, showing him the bottle. "Vanilla Extract. How better to take care of a giant monster made of animated chocolate?"

Shinichi fixed him with a look.

"Morning Aoko,"

"Morning Kaito...Do I even want to know why you're covered in ofuda?"

"Some ghosts," said Kaito sagely, "Have no sense of humor."

#Fin

The Cloak of Disbelief was introduced in "Nothing Special" (the Takagi discovering magic story). The story hasn't been printed yet, as it was deleted when my laptop went wonky months ago. Basically while the spell is up anyone seeing anything strange will rewrite what they're seeing in there head so it will appear normal (IE A person flying by magical means will appear to have a hang glider or be inviable)

Actually Kudo's date plan was really simple. Change clothes, dye hair, wear sunglasses, and stay in well lit areas to hide his glow

**candidus-lupus-full Moon:** I'm Working on FAF right now. I actually redid the entire story, which I will be uploading when i upload the next chapter. and there will be and Xholic chapter in PD, it's already schedualed into the continuity.

**Meitantei ChibiMoonPhantom:** I know, I'm happy to have Shadow back too. Glad the logic makes sense.

**YumeTakato: **Good, sometimes I forget fans of one series aren't familair with the aspects of another.

**Firefly4000: **Danke muchly**  
**


	19. Hero

AN: heh heh heh. No I haven't dropped of the face of the planet. I sorta burned myself out trying to keep TIA of a schedule and haven't been able to write for months. Trying to get back into the swing of things.

Rating went up for this chapter. There's nothing explicit, but it deals with some dark themes

S$

"Damn...Damn...Damn...Damn!"

The punching bag, a relic from a time long ago when he had tried to learn to fight like Ran, shuddered horribly, the chain suspending it from the attic rafters creaking. It was actually a good quality model, made to take a lot of abuse. It had met it's match, though, in the superhuman strength of a halfa and probably wouldn't make it through the evening.

But Shinichi could care less about the punching bag's fate, glowing tears running down his cheeks. He just kept hitting it, trying to drown his internal pain in a flurry of punches.

'_I can,'t let the job effect me, that's all._' Those callous words he had said to Ran on what would become of of the worst nights of his life were now haunting him. He had become desensitized to death a long time ago. He had turned off his ability to empathize with the victims. The unknown people were just pieces of evidence.

She wasn't a piece of evidence.

Her name was Nozomi Hinako; she was in his elementary school class. She read books with fairies and unicorns. Her favorite color was peach and she and Ayumi sometimes had sleepovers together.

Now she was dead. A pervert – he wouldn't give the creep the honor of calling him a man- had tried to kidnap her. When she had screamed and fought back he had decided she wasn't worth the trouble and...

Nozomi wasn't the first.

Since becoming a halfa he had spied on people, pranked people, and scared them senseless. This was the first time he had hurt someone. He wasn't going to go on a useless pity trip about loosing his humanity, because he would have done the same thing if he had been completely human. The man wasn't even that injured, roughed up yes but no broken bones.

So the punching bag took his place, Shinichi pummeling it without abandon.

What was the point? Everyone called him a superhero. Danny was a superhero; he stopped the bad guys before anything really serious (or at least irreversible) happened to the victims. Shinichi was just a detective suffering from an overdose of ectoplasm mixed with a stupid poison that should have just killed him and gotten it over with. All his life he had wanted to be a detective, but now that he thought about it, being a detective was like closing the barn doors after the horse had escaped.

He was so immersed within himself, he was surprised when he heard a small voice call out "Conan-kun?"

He turned around to a face he was sure he'd never see again.

The small fiddled girl with her hands, a habit she had when she was nervous. "You are Conan-kun, right? The other ghosts said you were, but I think they might have been teasing me."

"Nozomi-chan?" he gasped, shifting back into his smaller living form.

Nozomi's eyes lit up. "It really is you! That's awesome, you're like a superhero!"

At the hated description Conan winced. "I'm not a superhero. If I was I could have saved you."

"But you stopped him right? You gave the police the evidence to catch him, then stopped him from escaping all by yourself."

"It's not enough," the tears were back, "What good am I if I can't protect people?"

To his surprise the small girl laughed. "You're Conan-kun alright! Always trying to put the weight of the world on your shoulders." She drifted over to him, "It was less than ten minutes between when I first saw the man and he killed me. You didn't even know I was in danger, much less where I was. Besides, I talked to some of the other ghosts. They said I'm lucky he killed me when he did. If he did what he wanted me for, even if I survived I wouldn't be able to live." She shrugged. "I don't know what that means but I met some of the other girls he killed, they're all still here you know, and I think I get what they mean. They're happy they're dead." Nozomi shuddered.

"I don't want to know what could make someone happy to be dead. Even in death they weren't free. But now that he's caught...it's like someone flipped a switch. They can be happy again, most of them are moving on. A lot of ghosts find it awkward to talk to you but you're very popular. One of the first things I heard when I woke up was 'Don't worry, Conan's on your case'. Even if you can't always save people's lives, you still help them find peace. So from all of us, thank you." Nozomi flew over and gave the halfa a hug.

"Really? I am helping people?" Conan almost couldn't believe it.

She giggled. "Of course you are silly." Then she blinked as though remembering something. "I was wondering, were you the one who scared Yamada-sensei away?"

Conan lowered his head, "Yeah, I know that wasn't a very good thing to do but-"

Nozomi nodded approvingly. "Good, she was mean. I'm glad we got Kobayashi-sensei back! Thanks Conan-kun!" she waved and flew away.

Conan was quiet for few moments before he took down the punching bag and flew home. He knew she should have been the one thanking her. Maybe there was something to this hero business after all.

S$

BTW the name Nozomi means 'Hope'.

**YumeTakato:** I'm hoping this works. I have been trying to get in touch with you because I've been dying to read what you've written for 'All Grown Up'. Posting it on LJ or emailing it to me, either way I want to see it :)

**candidus-lupus-full Moon: **I am the pun queen

**Meitantei ChibiMoonPhantom: **The question is, how long can he keep wearing it?

**Shadewolf7: **Thank you, I try :P

**Thunderstorm101:** Updates are sporadic. Have you tried knightus's site for reading the Conan manga?

**EelvenGirl:** And the thing is, no one is going to look at him funny for being covered in ofuda. After all, he's Kaito.

**egyptianqueen777: **I'm not the best on updates. I apologize for this.


	20. Nightmare

Phantom Detective

Nightmares

Ran frowned at the clock. Perhaps she would have been slightly less annoyed back when she thought Conan was really Conan. But knowing he was Shinichi, he really was running late for school. Even if it was only elementary school he shouldn't be tardy. (Her insistence that he attend school and do all his homework in front of her wasn't revenge for the whole Conan thing, really).

Letting out a sigh (some thing, she supposed would never change) she knocked on his door. "Conan-kun you're going to be late for school".

When she got no response, she opened the door. Her frown deepen as she saw that, far from getting ready, the boy was still in bed.

She reached over and gave him a rough shake. "Come on you, you're going to make us both late."

Conan's eye's snapped open violently. He sat up ramrod straight and in a flash of light (it went by too quickly for Ran to make out the ring) he was transformed into his older self. His chest was heaving, though Ran knew it was a 'memory reflex'. In this form he didn't need to breathe. She tried not to think too hard on that.

"Shinichi," her voice no more than a whisper, "What's wrong?" She lay her hand on his shoulder and he grabbed it like a life raft.

"A dream," he whispered, more to himself than her. "It was just a dream."

"What kind of dream-"

They were interrupted by the sound of Kogoro's footsteps. "You two are going to be late for school." he reminded in a gruff voice.

"Sorry Oji-san. Ran-neechan was just helping me find my glasses." Conan's voice echoed from the room. Shinichi shut his jaw with an almost audible snap. He stared down his nose as if his mouth had betrayed him.

Grumbling something about taking better care of his belongings and the cost of replacement glasses, Kogoro moved on.

"I didn't know you could do that. Use Conan's voice while-"

"Neither did I," Shinichi cut her off, his voice unusually heavy with bitterness. "Just one more of those things," _Just one more of those things that make me a freak. _He shook his head. "You head off to school. I'll be fine. If I get too crunched for time I can-" _Fly. I can fly. Urgh, I can't even say it out loud right now. _He shook his head.

Ran frowned uncertainly, opened her mouth uncertainly then closed it. As she left the room, Shinichi covered his eyes with his hands . He really didn't want to be Conan right now, but he didn't want to be the Phantom Detective either. _I don't even know at this point which one is the real me and which one is the persona._

_S$_

"Conan are you okay? You've been really quiet all day." Ayumi asked worried, her hand on his shoulder reminiscent of Ran's that morning.

He shrugged it off with a shaky smile. There was definite concern in her voice. Mitsuhiko and Genta looked at him with curiosity. Ai just turned her head. She hadn't looked him in the eye in over a week. "I'm fine, I just had a rough night."

The children's faces brightened. "Was it a ghost?" asked Mitsuhiko eagerly

"I bet it was that old woman again." Genta hypothesized.

"Did they give us a new case?" Ayumi asked excitedly.

Conan shook his head. "No, nothing like that..."

Genta crossed his arms and frowned. "You wouldn't be trying to leave us out of the case _again_? What, does Mr. Undead not need any help?"

Conan went rigid at Genta's words. Suddenly he vanished, the only sound being air rushing in to fill the void when there had once been a small boy.

"Was it something I said?" asked Genta.

Ayumi kicked him in his shin. Hard.

"We should talk to Ran." Ai suggested. "She's known him longer than anyone, she may have an idea what's wrong."

S$

"So he just disappeared?" Ran sat back in the kitchen chair and closed her eyes.

"It seemed to be the word 'undead' that triggered his flight." Ai supplied.

"I should have known." She sighed. "I knew something was wrong this morning." At the inquisitive glances she continued. "He had a dream, a really bad one. He also discovered a new ability, but that seemed to make him even more depressed."

"Ability?" Ai inquired.

Ran grinned wryly at the little girl who was effectively Shinichi's physician. "Nothing major, he can use Conan's voice when he's Shinichi." Ai nodded, filing this away for further study.

"Well what was the dream about?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"I don't know."

Ayumi frowned. "You didn't ask?" Adults these days, didn't they know anything?

"I..." Ran faltered. "I would have asked Conan the moment I found out he had a nightmare. But Shinichi - to treat him that way would have been humiliating. I just don't know." A redness started to form around her eyes that she was well practiced at keeping in. "I know how to take care of Conan and how to deal with Shinichi, I just don't know which I'm supposed to be doing." It felt odd being so frank with children, but the truth was that they were the only one who understood. All to well.

Ayumi's frown evened out and she patted Ran on the side. "Treat him like Shinichi; we can take care of Conan, right guys?"

A loud affirmative echoed from the rest of the Shonen Tantei.

Even Ai.

S$

The trap door to the attic creak eerily as the four children peeked around the attic of the old Kudo house.

"Are you sure he's here?" Mitsuhiko asked, nervously. This place looked like a haunted house. Totally ignoring the fact that they came here looking for a half-ghost.

"My source say he comes here when he's upset." said Ayumi confidently.

"And what source would that be?" Kudo Shinichi's voice rang from the rafters.

The children jumped but quickly hid it. "That is a secret." Ayumi responded indignantly.

The Phantom Detective shrugged and once again rested against the rafters. For once he made no effort to hide his teenage form from them, displaying not the least bit of shyness or shame. "Why are you here?" he asked in a tired voice.

"Because we're worried about you!" Ayumi answered in a petulant voice.

"What's there to worry about?" he asked, bitterness again in his voice. "Not like anything could _hurt_ me. Can't kill what's already _dead_."

The harshness of his words shocked his friends, who were used to nothing but supreme self confidence coming from their friend.

"You're not dead." Ai responded a little desperately.

"I have no pulse and I'm not breathing." Kudo answered matter of factly.

"But you _are_ hurting." Ayumi followed up, drawing strength from Ai. "The dream's hurting you, isn't it?"

She knew she had hit the mark when his posture stiffened. "Ran told you about that?" he then shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"You promised." Mitsuhiko reminded. "You promised us no more secrets."

"We're you're friends baka!" Genta interjected. "Stop shutting us out."

The aggression seemed to flow out of Shinichi and was replaced by a quiet sadness, "I dreamt I was at a funeral." He began, "I was sitting next to Ran. You guys were there, so was Agasa, my parents, the police, basically everyone I knew. It was a western style funeral with a casket, but I couldn't see who was inside. I sat with Ran while the preacher talked, but I couldn't here what he was saying. After he was done everyone got up and started laying roses on the casket. When I got up to the front I still couldn't see who was in the casket, so I asked Ran whose funeral it was. She said-" he broke of, wincing, then shook his head, "She said it was mine. I was dead so I had to be buried. She picked me up and through me in the casket, which was then dropped into the grave. Everyone started throwing flowers at me and I couldn't get out. Then the hole started to fill with dirt and...and I woke up. The dream was right though." He sighed. "I'm dead, just pretending to be alive. I started to die the night I was poisoned. I don't belong here anymore."

He expected a response, of course. Ayumi would defend him from his own words, she had such blind faith in him. Ai would point of that he was still technically alive when he was Conan, even though he shouldn't be. Mitsuhiko would back up Ai. He was expecting anything but...

"I'm sorry."

If he wasn't a ghost, Shinichi surely would have gotten whiplash from how quickly his head turned to stare at the large boy. Genta didn't apologize. Genta _never _apologized.

Genta had just apologized.

"I just get frustrated sometimes, we all do," Genta continued, staring at the floor. "We know you're trying to protect us, but you're still leaving us out, just like the other grown ups and it hurts 'cause you're one of us too."

_One of us_...

"But I'm not a real kid. Conan's not real."

Ayumi pouted. "Really, so I imagined the boy who wouldn't stop till he proved to Megure-keibu that we weren't lying about finding a body."

"And I imagined the person who protected us from that RC plane with the bomb on it," added Mitsuhiko, his grin at odds with Ayumi's pout.

"Yeah, so I musta imagined the guy who drove us off the top of an exploding building in a fancy car!!" Genta added all but cheered at the memory.

Shinichi shook his head, his other worry coming to the front. "If Conan is real, does that mean Shinichi isn't?"

Ai smacked her forehead. "For the love of...Are you really expecting elementary school children to have the philosophical and psychological answers you're looking for?"

"Aw man Ai, not you too!" Genta moaned.

"Why not," Shinichi asked dryly. "They're doing better than I am. Kids can see the straightforward truths that grown ups get all tangled."

Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta beamed. "Told ya, you're one of us, even when you're grown up."

Mitsuhiko thought for a second. "No one's one thing. Everyone has a bunch of different sides to them. You just have a bunch of different sides that you don't usually see together, like being a kid _and _an adult. Or being a ghost and being alive. And when you're showing different parts of yourself, you use different names, kinda like a screenname on the Internet."

Shinichi shook his head, and for the first time that day grinned. "You guys...are really smart, you know that?"

Genta's indignant "Well DUH!" had everyone laughing. Shinichi finally jumped down from the rafters, landing silently on the floor, though he hadn't floated or gone intangible. "Guess I should change back now."

"That's okay," said Ayumi, surprising everyone. "Why don't you show us around? I bet you've got all sorts of secret passages. And we didn't explore here before because you said not too."

"Well if you'd found any pictures of me from ten years ago, I'd have a lot to explain. That was before I'd come up with my cover story of being my own cousin." Shinichi reminded them. He then plucked at his orange jacket. "If I'm going to be...this me for a while I think I'm gonna change first. I hate this outfit."

"Better call Mouri-chan too," Ai added.

A flash of guilt crossed Shinichi's face and he nodded before disappearing down the trap door.

"Okay everyone, listen up." Ayumi said in her voice that let everyone know she meant business. "Conan is still hurting and, I think, confused. And the only way I think we can help him is to show him that Conan-kun and Shinichi-niichan are the same person, by treating both of them the same."

Ai nodded, "His compartmentalization, though once necessary, has caused a bit of an identity crisis. Added to that the further confusion he feels about being something he believes to be unnatural, something that shouldn't even exist, a total separations of his identities is no longer...healthy." At the three blank stares she summarized "He is disturbed by being half ghost and confused about who he is. This is bad for him." Understanding dawned. "As Ayumi said, we should try to help him reconcile his identities as Conan Edogawa and Shinichi Kudo, at the very least by making him feel he doesn't have to be one or the other around us." The three nodded, the last vestiges of Mitsuhiko and Genta's jealousy having been erased by the disturbing conversation they had just had with their friend.

Conan _needed_ them.

S$

The rest of the day passed relatively pleasantly. Ran came over and she and Shinichi gave the children a tour of the house (which did indeed have three secret passages and a priest's hole.) Ran pulled out some old photo albums and they laughed at the embarrassing pictures Yukiko had loved to take.

Shinichi had changed into his old blue suit. Though he didn't dye his hair or hide his eyes like he normally did when trying to appear human, he still acted the part of a normal person (ie not floating and opening doors instead of walking through walls). The only supernatural trait that was demonstrated was when the kids had eagerly demanded a demonstration of his new 'power'. Though his newfound ability to speak in Conan's voice when transformed had no practical purpose, it still greatly amused those present. Ai said nothing, but took note when Shinichi absently began to eat snacks with the rest of them, despite the fact that a body made of ectoplasm shouldn't be capable of ingesting food.

She could run tests when he was feeling better. Right now it was time for her and her advanced vocabulary to whoop all her friends at Scrabble.

S$

That night, as Conan tucked himself into bed he smiled at the thought that he had very good friends.

And none of them wanted him buried.

S$$S

AN: Another angst chapter. I've got to stop doing these. It was mostly inspired, of all characters, by Arsene Lupin. I once heard a description of him that basically went that he had worn so many fake identities, he had forgotten which one he really was. Throw in Shinichi's logical mind still trying to wrap itself around ghosts existing, much less him being one sometimes, and we've got a recipe for some serious issues.

It was also a time of growth for the ST, both in the realization that this super hero thing _isn't_ all fun and games and they needed to help their friend, and in Shinichi's perception (he doesn't even realize that he's starting to see them as equals, thus talking to them about things you just don't say in front of kids).

So anyone have a clue who Ayumi's source is? :)


End file.
